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Michael Carrick’s summer rebuild at Manchester United may represent a recruitment drive of a different kind. Perhaps the club’s main objective in the transfer market was to locate the new Casemiro. In another sense, though, it was about finding the next Michael Carrick. Twenty years on from his move from Tottenham, the current manager may still be the last central midfielder United signed who went on to deliver long-term success.

There have been others who flourished for a season or two — Casemiro, who produced two strong campaigns in four years at Old Trafford, is one example. Carrick’s former teammates Anderson and Owen Hargreaves also fit that description, as do Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and perhaps even Fred and Marouane Fellaini. Then there are players such as Manuel Ugarte, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sofyan Amrabat, whose spells were, for the most part, ineffective.

By comparison, Carrick spent 12 years at the club, made 464 appearances and served as a key figure for much of that period. Perhaps that direct understanding of what is required to play at the core of a United side has made him the ideal person to identify the next generation in that role.

So far, two players have come in: Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa. United are still seeking a third midfield addition and have submitted a £60m offer to Brighton for Carlos Baleba. Perhaps none of them is a straight replacement for Casemiro; then again, given the Brazilian’s unusual profile, perhaps nobody really could be.

Carrick is supervising a midfield revamp. “I know we’ve got a good midfield,” he said. “We’ve brought in some really, really top players and really good characters, which is important. We’ve got to evolve and we’ve got to improve.”

He appeared pleased, even if some targets proved beyond reach. A proposed £35m deal for Atalanta’s Ederson collapsed after a medical raised concerns over the Brazilian’s knee. United were interested in Aurelien Tchouameni, but he has stayed at Real Madrid. They also wanted Mateus Fernandes, but Tottenham paid West Ham £85m for the Portuguese, and Elliot Anderson, but Manchester City spent £116m on the Nottingham Forest player. In each instance, the level of the bid effectively pushed United out of contention.

Manchester United signed Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa in a £35m deal.

That may underline how much circumstances have changed. Pogba arrived for what was then a world-record £89m, but United may no longer be among the market’s biggest spenders or operating at its very top end. They signed Santos for £48m, while Tielemans cost only £35m because of a release clause. That looked like excellent value.

In a summer when £100m midfielders have become a theme — with Sandro Tonali and Anderson among them, and perhaps more still to come — Carrick believes United have secured strong value for money.

“There’s certainly players that have been more expensive, I think that’s pretty obvious,” said Carrick. “We’re delighted with the two that we’ve brought in and for the money. But actually take that away, I’m delighted that we’ve got them. Two fantastic players give us really good balance, give us a lot within the team, offer us different things. So certainly for the value that we feel we’ve got, I think we’ve done very well with them two.”

None of United’s midfield signings is a direct replacement for Casemiro.

Tielemans is a particularly revealing example. He has arrived at 29 and Carrick, who was 25 when he made his United debut, was hardly a youngster himself when the club signed him. The Belgian is an accomplished passer, just as his manager was. The suggestion may be that Carrick’s idea of midfield is based more on construction than destruction; if Tielemans lines up alongside Kobbie Mainoo, there is no obvious ball-winner. Yet the same could have been argued when Carrick played with Paul Scholes. Carrick has also used Mason Mount in a deeper midfield position during pre-season, although Mount is now a fitness doubt. Casemiro can be described as a defensive midfielder; Mount much less so.

Two decades ago, Carrick cost £16.8m, a fee some considered too high at the time, but one that ultimately proved money very well spent. Now, the far larger sums attached to other midfielders at least show how widely the importance of the position is recognised. “The midfield connects the whole team together and has a big say on how the team performs with and without the ball, and the character and the personality of the team,” Carrick said.

A major part of Carrick’s value as a player was his composure and reliability. It appears those are the qualities he now wants in a midfield unit. “I think the foundation of the team is important to be consistent, to be consistent through one game from start to finish, to be consistent over a period of time,” he said. “You need a solid foundation through the middle of the team ... If you look at all the top teams over the years, all the great teams over the years, the spine of the team is really strong. So we’re conscious of that, and I think we’ve got a good spine of the team right now.”

They will need that. Perhaps midfield tells the story of how and where United lost their direction. Across the past 20 years, Arsenal and Chelsea, Liverpool and City all made numerous hugely successful signings in the centre of the pitch. United, with Bruno Fernandes more naturally a No 10, did not. In Tielemans, Santos and possibly Baleba, Carrick believes he can start to change that. And few people are better placed than him to assess what a United midfielder should be.